Ideas for landscape lighting

I'm about 2 weeks away from having an irrigation system installed in my yard. Presently, I have no outdoor/landscape lighting other than flood lights mounted to the house/soffit. So, I'm thinking since the irrigation contractor is going to be laying pipe in the yard....he may be able to use his equipment to make preparation for some outdoor lighting (trenching for electrical conduit) which could save me a bit of money should I install some landscape lighting. Any thoughts???

Also, if anyone knows of some good websites I could visit that gives some examples of various types of landscape lighting available.....please let me know. I don't want anything real costly/elaborate. Just the basic stuff that will enhance the appearance of yard. Hate to have such nice green/lush turf and all new bushes......and no lighting to accent. That would be a shame.

does your irrigation contractor offer lighting ? If not then asking him to "prewire" will be of little use unless he prewires under driveways and such or leaves a conduit under the driveway. This could save you some time and headaches later as far as a bore would be concerned but without a design or plan then I would consult with a designer/installer before attempting to prewire anything since you will not know how many runs and which gauge to use and the locations of the prewires.

I'm starting to realize that the difference between these "big" players and myself is the photography and marketing. Although this web site looks impressive, I have seen nothing on this web site that stands out to me as anything above and beyond what we do on a regular basis. Janet Lenox Moyer sent me an invitation to her Landscape Lighting class in late September, but I absolutely refuse to pay the Genesis 3 group $4500 bucks to attend a seminar that will teach me to do the same thing that I currently know how to do!

If he is running pipe under driveway and sidewalk, definetly do a couple of spares each place with 1" pvc or larger for sleeves. you wont regret that. running low voltage cable now won't save you much if you hire a lighting contractor, he will want to use his own wire and bury it himself.

If you are going to do your own lighting, you may end up discovering what a lighting contractor already knows- except for driveways and sidewalks, pre-buried wire does not save you time or money. fro quality pictures of what landscape lighting should look like- take a look at mike gambino's site, google gambino lighting and you'll find it.

different folks use different fixtures, so to me reccomending one thing will just get another person reccomending something else. take the nicest, heaviest, most expensive landscape light fixture you can find at home depot or Lowes and shop around til you find one aprox. twice the weight and price, and that is a good place to start.

If he is running pipe under driveway and sidewalk, definetly do a couple of spares each place with 1" pvc or larger for sleeves. you wont regret that. running low voltage cable now won't save you much if you hire a lighting contractor, he will want to use his own wire and bury it himself.

If you are going to do your own lighting, you may end up discovering what a lighting contractor already knows- except for driveways and sidewalks, pre-buried wire does not save you time or money. fro quality pictures of what landscape lighting should look like- take a look at mike gambino's site, google gambino lighting and you'll find it.

different folks use different fixtures, so to me reccomending one thing will just get another person reccomending something else. take the nicest, heaviest, most expensive landscape light fixture you can find at home depot or Lowes and shop around til you find one aprox. twice the weight and price, and that is a good place to start.

good luck.

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David come on ? twice the price of lowes or home depot ? My cost is closer to 3-5 times the amount I could buy thier cheap lights for but they are 10 times the quality.

Squirt. If you want a proffesionally designed system thats going to be built to last let us know where you live and someone on here can either help you or reffer you to someone who can. None of us deal in the cheapie systems on here. You can expect to pay low to mid 3 figures per fixture for a quality designed high performance system that will not only perform and last but also add value and security to your residence.

David come on ? twice the price of lowes or home depot ? My cost is closer to 3-5 times the amount I could buy thier cheap lights for but they are 10 times the quality.

Squirt. If you want a proffesionally designed system thats going to be built to last let us know where you live and someone on here can either help you or reffer you to someone who can. None of us deal in the cheapie systems on here. You can expect to pay low to mid 3 figures per fixture for a quality designed high performance system that will not only perform and last but also add value and security to your residence.

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What he said! ive never even concidered buying lights at home cheapo or lowes. never even priced them!

low to mid 3 figures/fixture? holy cow, I'm way out of touch. i'm mainly concerned about the security benefit of lighting and would only need maybe 4 fixtures aimed at the house (front & back entry...and both sides). basically, an enhancement to the good ole flood lights mounted to the soffit. seems my mom had some installed years ago called low-sodium...if i'm saying it right???

if any lighting is needed to create interest or for "beautifying purposes", it would be something small to line the walk leading to the front door. nothing fancy, just a little somethin' somethin'. i'm not living in a mansion or multi-million dollar home. it's pretty modest...and dark!

obviously, i really wasn't thinking $$$ when i got this idea of outdoor lighting. after paying for an irrigation system....i'm financially embarassed. i do, however, appreciate the feedback. thanks!

If you have access to a trencher and you have not done your lawn do look to where you may want a remote hydrant for the yard or outdoor recepticles. While I put a few in place I did not put as many as I could use now. Some one also mentioned it here, while I had not put in irrigation or outdoor lighting I did go ahead and put a few runs of conduit under my sidewalks.